Bus Trip
by Sailor Elf
Summary: After Nick agrees to help chaperone one of Sarah's school trips, things turn disasterous once the bus is hijacked by men set out for revenge.
1. A Class Trip for Nick

Disclaimer-Nobody from Presidio Med belongs to me. Not even Nick. (WAH!) Though Sarah, Patrick and Jessica belong to me along with any other original charcters.  
  
Summary-After Nick agrees to help chaperone one of Sarah's school trips, things turn disasterous once the bus is hijacked by men set out for revenge.  
  
Author's Note-Here it is everybody who reads my stuff. For all that I know who read my stuff. (*Glances over at Deana*.) The story that came sooner rather than later.  
  
******  
  
Bus Trip  
  
Nick looked over the papers sitting before him on the desk as Rae walked up from behind him.  
  
"Hey Nick, how're you doing?" she asked him.  
  
At the sound of her voice, Nick jumped. Once he realized who it was, a smile appeared on his face as he put a hand to to his face and laughed.  
  
"I'll be fine Rae. How are you on this beautiful day?" he replied as he started to get back to his work.  
  
"I'm good. Um, how's the life of a parent?" she wondered as her eyes started to look towards someplace else.  
  
Nick simply stared at her.  
  
"It's only been a few months Rae! Besides, it's not like these two are infants or young children. She's almost going to be 16 and he's 18. I just gave them a place to stay," he told her.  
  
"Of course you did Nick. You also gave them home that they know won't force them to do anything they don't feel comfortable doing and you didn't separate them either. I heard from Jackie about what someone called you. She said she heard you were her knight in shining armour. As a matter of fact, I agree with whoever said that. You most certainly are!" Rae said with a laugh.  
  
She continued to laugh as Nick looked in front of him. He tapped his pen on the table as an 'I don't believe it' look appeared on his face.  
  
"I am sooo going to do something to Jackie once I get the chance," he muttered to himself. "For starting that nickname on me."  
  
"I'm sorry, what was that? I'm afraid I didn't hear that," asked a still laughing Rae.  
  
Nick strangely looked at her as she slowly backed away from him. He shook his head as she hurried away from him.  
  
***  
  
"So the guy that adopts you and your brother is a doctor!?" asked a very surprised Jessica.  
  
"Yes, and no. He's a surgeon here," Sarah replied.  
  
"I can't believe you never bothered to tell me this before. Me, of all people!" Jessica told her, seeming a bit upset.  
  
"You never asked," Sarah said with a laugh as they walked into the hospital.  
  
They headed upstairs and down the hall.  
  
"So, do you think he'll agree to it? I mean, he might have to work that day," Jessica wondered.  
  
"It doesn't hurt to ask him if he wil do it, right? What's the worst he could say? That he has to work and can't get the day off?" Sarah replied as she saw Jackie in the distance.  
  
"Hey Sarah. How're you today?" she asked as they stopped.  
  
"Good. Listen, do you know where Nick is right now?" Sarah asked her.  
  
"Nick...?" started Jackie. "Nick? Nick? Oh yes, yes, him. Tall fellow, short black hair. Greek accent?"  
  
Sarah nodded, a huge smile on her face and a laugh creeping into her voice.  
  
"He's down the hall in one of the offices on your right," Jackie said with a laugh.  
  
Sarah began to laugh herself.  
  
"See you later Jackie," Sarah called to her as they started on their way again.  
  
"Does she do that a lot?" wondered Jessica.  
  
"Every single time I come in and ask her for my father," Sarah replied. "Ah, here he is."  
  
The two walked into the office. Patrick was already there, waiting beside the desk. He saw her and kept quiet.  
  
"Rae, what do you want now?" asked Nick without even looking up.  
  
"Are they making fun of you again?" asked Sarah.  
  
Nick looked up from his work and laughed.  
  
"Sorry about that. I've had a bit of fun poked at me since I decided to take you two in," Nick replied as he stood up and gave her a hug.  
  
"I can imagine so. We've come to know your colleagues very well and it seems you all get along pretty well," Patrick said.  
  
"Don't believe everything they say," Nick said.  
  
He turned his attention back to Sarah.  
  
"So what can I help you with sweetheart?" he asked her.  
  
"Well, my astronomy class at school is going on a trip to the observatory outside of town and the teacher asked me if you'd be willing to chaperone," Sarah asked him.  
  
"When is it?" wondered Nick, reaching for the calender.  
  
"A week from Friday," replied Jessica. "I'm in the class as well."  
  
"Let me check..." started Nick, checking the calender on the wall. "Yes, I'm free. Tell your teacher I'll go."  
  
"And tell her I'll go as well," Patrick said as he received some stares. "What? I'm interested in it as much as she is."  
  
"Thanks Dad, thanks Pat. I'll tell her tomorrow," Sarah said with a smile. "We'll be back. I have to go run a couple of errands."  
  
"Where do you expect to go?" Nick wondered, returning to his work.  
  
"To the grocery store," Sarah replied. "Have to get something for dinner tonight."  
  
"Wait, I'll come with you," Patrick told her as he grabbed his jacket.  
  
Nick nodded with a small smile as the three teens left the room and Letty walked into the room.  
  
"Where're they going?" she asked.  
  
"Groceries," replied Nick.  
  
"So tell me. Why'd you do it?" she asked.  
  
"Why does everybody keep asking me that? I just did," wondered Nick.  
  
Letty shook her head.  
  
***  
  
"You've got to tell me Sarah. He speaks Greek, right?" said Jessica, sounding desperatly happy.  
  
"Yes. What has that got to do with...?" started Sarah.  
  
"Have you learned any yet?" replied Jessica.  
  
Patrick gave a snicker.  
  
"Of course. In the few months Sarah and I have been around him, we're pretty much fluent in the language," replied Patrick. "Now let's get something for dinner."  
  
TBC... 


	2. Nearby Danger

Nick neatly put the papers on his desk as Rae, Jackie and Letty walked into the room.  
  
"Hey Nick. What're you doing here? I thought this was your day off," Rae said as they walked up to him.  
  
"It is my day off. I've just come by to check up on everything before I leave," he replied.  
  
"Why? Where's your day taking you?" wondered Letty.  
  
"Oh, that's right, I forgot to tell you. One of Sarah's classes is going on a school trip today. I've agreed to help chaperone," Nick told them.  
  
"Aww, how sweet. The knight is living up to his shining reputation," Jackie said, starting to laugh.  
  
"Jackie, I will get you for that someday. Be warned for you don't know when I may strike back at you," Nick told her as he leaned towards her.  
  
She could barely hear him over her laughing. Rae and Letty couldn't stop their giggling.  
  
"I believe this is the reason I didn't tell you in the first place. I somehow knew you were going to react like this. You have been ever since the moment Sarah and Patrick came through those hospital doors," Nick whispered to her while he was still at his close proximity to Jackie.  
  
"Nick, I'm sorry. Can you ever forgive me?" Jackie told him, her voice still filled with laughter.  
  
Nick looked her over before sighing.  
  
"Let me think on that Jackie. I'm not sure I want to. We'll have to wait and see, won't we?" replied Nick as he raised his eyebrows.  
  
"Oh please, Nick," pleaded Jackie.  
  
He walked around her and out the door, the three women watching him carefully.  
  
"Better be careful Jackie, he might be serious about getting back at you. Once he gets back to work, you'd better watch out," Letty told her.  
  
"You never can tell with Nick Kokoris," Rae agreed.  
  
"He won't do it," Jackie said in a confident manner.  
  
She looked at Letty and Rae with a slightly scared look.  
  
"Won't he?" she nervously asked the two.  
  
***  
  
At the school, Sarah and Patrick patiently waited for Nick to show up. She was pacing back and forth as her brother watched her.  
  
"Stop or else you'll get gray hair before you're 20," laughed Patrick.  
  
"I know I shouldn't worry but this really the first time we really asked him to do anything we us. Before now, he was always someone to fall back on after school and help us with homework," Sarah said.  
  
"Mainly you. I know how to do mine," Patrick said.  
  
Sarah stuck her tongue out at him as Jessica walked up behind her.  
  
"Sarah, don't worry. He'll be here. He seemed to be pretty happy to do this when we asked him," Jessica told her.  
  
Before anyone else could say anything, Nick walked up behind them.  
  
"I'm here. Am I late?" he asked as a teacher walked up to them.  
  
"Mr. Kokoris, I take it?" she asked.  
  
Nick nodded.  
  
"I'm Mrs. Tand, the astronomy teacher. I have heard some about you since Sarah came back to class," the teacher told him, holding out her hand and he took it.  
  
"It's nice to be here," Nick said as he looked around at the students.  
  
"There's about 30 going today. I tell you, ever since Sarah came back from that absence of hers, she's been like a whole new person. Before, she was very, how can I put it, tougher for lack of a better word. Not only that, she got into trouble with the other kids a lot," Mrs. Tand told him. "You must have done something to her to change her attitude."  
  
Nick stared at her with an odd look as she shrugged and the teacher walked away from them. He sighed and ruffled her hair. She laughed as she tried to stop him.  
  
"I don't know about you," he told her.  
  
"Alright everybody, on the bus. Now that everybody's here, we'll be on our way to the observatory," the teacher said to the students.  
  
They all climbed onto the bus and it started on its way out of town.  
  
***  
  
Sarah was sitting next to Jessica, Patrick and Nick were in the seat across the aisle.  
  
"Man, I wish we'd get there before the day is over," whined Jessica.  
  
"The day will be over. You know it's better to look at the stars at night," laughed Sarah.  
  
Nick put on a smile as he listened to their conversation.  
  
***  
  
Matt walked up to Harriet, drinking a cup of coffee.  
  
"Harriet, where's Nick today? I have something to ask him and he's not answering his home phone or pager," he asked her.  
  
"That's because he's not home Matt. I heard from Letty and Rae that he's chaperoning a class trip of Sarah's. Won't be home until after dark," Harriet replied.  
  
"Sarah? She's the one who came in with her brother, Patrick, a few months ago, isn't it? The same two he took in, right?" he wondered.  
  
"Same ones," Harriet told him as she turned the page of the newspaper.  
  
Matt slowly nodded his head as he lifted the cup up to his mouth.  
  
"Way to go Nick," he whispered to himself.  
  
***  
  
Nick looked through the telescope at the stars after everybody else had done so. He walked away as the teacher continued to talk .  
  
"As you can see, they are many stars in the night sky. There are billions of stars throughtout the galaxy," she said. "Has everyone had a look through the telescope?"  
  
Everyone nodded.  
  
"Good. Now this concludes our tour. Everybody please proceed to the bus," Mrs. Tand told them.  
  
***  
  
Six feet ran through the forest near the observatory. They soon came across the building and the students heading out towards the bus.  
  
"Look, there's our ticket back to town. Let's hitch a ride," one said.  
  
"Great idea," replied another.  
  
The third nodded his head as they ran towards the bus. They hid in the shadows of the bus as the kids climbed onto it.  
  
Soon, everybody was on excpet the bus driver. Sarah was now sitting with Nick and she laid her head against his shoulder. He looked at her with a smile on his face.  
  
"Tired?" he asked.  
  
"Um-hum," was her reply.  
  
"Everybody on the bus?" the bus driver asked the teacher.  
  
Mrs. Tand nodded as she faced the students.  
  
"Everybody in a seat now. We have to get going," she told them.  
  
Suddenly, they heard a commotion coming from outside and three men walked onto the bus, shoving the driver forcefully into the seat. All the students became nervous. Sarah bolted up in her seat, wide awake.  
  
"What's going on?" she asked.  
  
"Bus is being hijaked," replied Nick in a quiet voice.  
  
The two looked over at Patrick and Sarah, who were sitting nervously next to each other. Jessica looked over at her, worry written all over her face.  
  
"Don't even think about resisting 'cause if you do, people will start falling like flies," one man said.  
  
The man looked like the obvious leader of the group as he scanned the group of students and adults, a shotgun now over his shoulder.  
  
Sarah lowered herself in her seat as did Patrick.  
  
"How did they find us Pat? I thought we lost them years ago," wondered Sarah as she looked over at her brother.  
  
"I don't know but once he sees us, we're dead," he replied.  
  
The man walked in between the two and looked at their faces. His eyes lit up in recognition.  
  
"Well if it isn't my little pesky friends. Nice to see you two here. Now to say good-bye," the man said as he aimed the gun at the back of the bus.  
  
"Excuse me, but what do you think you're doing?" asked Nick as he stood up and aimed the gun at the floor of the bus.  
  
"Stay out of this. It's between them and me," the man replied.  
  
"I'm sorry but when it deals with these two, it most certainly deals with me," Nick replied. "Now tell me. What is it with two teenagers that concerns you?"  
  
"These aren't your ordinary teenagers. Five years ago, they took away everything about me. Stole most of my money. Now, just recently, they took away my only source of drugs in this town. But of course, how was I supposed to know the man and them were related by blood?" the man angrily replied as he aimed the gun at Patrick.  
  
Patrick grew scared as he stared down the insides of the gun. Nick climbed out of the seat and stood in the way.  
  
"I don't want to do this man. Don't get yourself involved with this now. They destroyed my life!" the man screamed at him.  
  
Nick shook his head.  
  
"No, I involved myself the first time I saw these two. I have been ever since. You have something against them, you also have something against me," Nick told the man.  
  
"If you won't get out of my way voluntarily, I'll do it myself," the man said as he aimed his gun at Nick and pulled the triggor.  
  
TBC... 


	3. Injures, Nicknames and Bus Rides

"NO!" screamed Sarah and Patrick in unison as they heard the gun go off.  
  
Nick felt the pain all over again as the bullet embedded itself into his shoulder. He fell back, onto the floor of the bus, first leaning over the seat beside him. Sarah and Patrick grew angry and jumped on the man as the others moved towards the back of the bus. Both of the teens were forcibly pushed away into the seats. Sarah cracked her head against the window as did Patrick.  
  
"I told you to get out of this man. You didn't listen. Now, you're going to pay for it. They're more trouble than you realize. You should've seen them when I knew them well," the man said as Nick tried to back away.  
  
Nick was holding his hand over the wound as he was doing so, the pain becoming worse as each and every moment passed. He was staring down the insides of the gun as it was still being pointed at him.  
  
"We don't have to resort to this. We can work this out, I'm sure we can," Nick told him.  
  
The man started to laugh.  
  
"You don't get it, do you? These two are dangerous and you are protecting them and I think you should know my name before you die. It's Max. Max Hearst," he replied. "Not only that, they should die, as well as you, for taking away Smith. He was my source. Now that he's gone to jail, I have nothing left."  
  
Nick stared at the man's face. He found nothing that remotely resembled pity.  
  
"You're a cold-blooded killer if you do this," Nick told him.  
  
"I really don't give a care," Hearst said. "Though we will leave now. I'm feeling happy enough to let you live for now but we're now heading into the city. We're taking over this bus and everyone in it better listen or someone else will get shot. Understand?"  
  
The students nervously nodded their heads as they slowly took thier seats again. Jessica walked up to Nick and helped him into the same seat as Patrick. Nick put his good hand on Patrick's shoulder and the teen stirred until he finally regained full consciousness.  
  
"Dad! You're hurt!" he said once he saw the blood on Nick's shoulder.  
  
"It's nothing, believe me," Nick quietly told him.  
  
"Nothing my foot. As soon as we get out of this mess, you're going right to the hospital. Wonder what your friends will think of you getting hurt for us again? " Patrick told him.  
  
Across the aisle, Jessica shook Sarah awake, who quickly became aware of the man with the shotgun in his hands. She cowered in the seat as the driver started the bus.  
  
"Max Hearst. We'd never thought we'd see you again," she heard Patrick mumble.  
  
She nodded to herself in agreement.  
  
"Now let's go into town," Max told the crowd as his two friends sat facing them in the front seats.  
  
The driver slowly moved the bus forward, towards the city.  
  
***  
  
Letty, Rae, Harriet and Jules were in the break room talking to each other. The radio was quietly playing in the background as was the television set.  
  
"Hey Jules, want to know what Nick told me earlier before he left?" Jackie asked her, laughing.  
  
"He was here earlier? Really? I thought this was his day off?" Jules wondered.  
  
"It is his day off. He went off to help chaperone one of Sarah's class trips. But anyway, he actually told me to be careful. I think he's out to get me now," Jackie replied.  
  
"Really? Whatever for? I never thought of Nick as the vengeful type," Jules said with a laugh, not believing what she was hearing.  
  
"Oh, nothing much it's about the nickname I simply gave him when Sarah and Patrick first came in. I think it's also because Rae had started to call him that as well. He's become known as a 'knight in shining armour', at least to me, ever since I first saw him talking to Sarah in the waiting room," explained Jackie.  
  
The four started to laugh as Matt walked into the room.  
  
"Alright. What's so funny?" he wondered.  
  
"Something about Nick, that's all," replied Rae.  
  
"Nothing serious," Rae said, a laugh still in her in her voice.  
  
They continued to talk until Letty saw a news bulliten on the television.  
  
"Hey guys, be quiet for a minute," she said to them as she reached for the remote.  
  
She turned it up as they started to watch the program.  
  
"Breaking news. A schoolbus full of students from the local high school has been taken over by three unknown men near the observatory this evening. One gunshot was heard from witnesses outside the bus though nothing else is known as of yet, whether anyone is injured or even killed. We will bring you more news as it comes in," the man said.  
  
The five suddenly became serious as they watched it.  
  
"Nick and the kids are no doubt on that bus. What if something's happened to them?" wondered Letty as she looked at her colleagues.  
  
They all appeared as worried as she was.  
  
"Let's hope for the best that they come back alive," Matt told her.  
  
***  
  
Patrick placed some pressure on the wound in Nick's shoulder. Nick was fast asleep in the seat, totally oblivious to everything around him. Sarah watched her older brother from the next seat.  
  
"Is he going to be okay Pat?" she quietly asked him.  
  
"Yes, he will be Sarah. Just as long as he doesn't get worse," he replied.  
  
Jessica put a hand on her friend's shoulder and Sarah looked at her, sadness in her eyes.  
  
"He means a lot to both of you, doesn't he?" she asked.  
  
Sarah nodded.  
  
"He's the only person who cared about us when the whole world turned their backs on us," explained Sarah.  
  
Max stepped in her view of Nick. He stared down at her.  
  
"I see you've gotten attached to him. I think it would be a pleasure to have you watch him die," Max told her with a small smile.  
  
Several eyes bore into him as he looked over the students in the bus.  
  
"You are all my hostages. You will all be here until I say so. If any of you should try and resist us, some people will be quickly very dead," Max told them.  
  
The students lowered themselves into their seats, all worried that they wouldn't get home until Jessica stood up.  
  
"Let us go! None of us deserve this, not even the ones who have hurt you..." she started.  
  
"Jessica!" Sarah said, surprised.  
  
"...or will hurt you. Have you ever thought that they had no choice?" finished Jessica.  
  
Max lifted up his gun and aimed it at her. She quickly sat down.  
  
"Good girl. Now be quiet the rest of the journey," Max threatened.  
  
He started to walk down the aisle and glance between the frightened students and adults.  
  
"Hey boss," came a voice.  
  
Max turned around and faced the two men.  
  
"What?" he demanded.  
  
"We're almost to town. Where do you want to go now?" the man replied.  
  
A smile crept over Max's face.  
  
"Go to their high school. Their parents are no doubt there waiting for them to return. I wonder what they'd think if they saw their children like this? Let's go find out," Max told them. "Off to school we go!"  
  
"That's right, you'd better go there or else," one man threatened the driver.  
  
"Yes," the man managed to get out as he headed towards the school.  
  
***  
  
"Where are they? They're late," wondered one mother.  
  
"Your guess is as good as the rest of ours," replied another.  
  
All of a sudden, they all saw headlights of a bus. They watched it as it started to pull into the school parking lot.  
  
"Finally! Jessica, her father and I are going somewhere in the morning," sighed one mother.  
  
The bus came to a stop and the doors opened. Everyone was confused when the students didn't move a muscle to get out. A man walked out of the bus, a gun over his shoulder. All the adults there were very confused with this as they looked at each other.  
  
"Can I have your attention please? My name is Max. Your children are on the bus and they're not coming off. They're my hostages along with all the adults on there as well. Try and save them, someone's going to have to die here and I know you don't want to see that happen," Max told the crowd.  
  
The parents there were shocked as they listened to the man before them.  
  
TBC... 


	4. When Danger Becomes Worse

One of the parents carefully pulled out his cell phone and dialed 911.  
  
"Hello, 911. How can I help you?" came a woman's voice.  
  
"We have a problem here," he told her.  
  
***  
  
The phone began ringing at the main desk of the hospital as Matt and Rae were just about to leave. The two were still very worried about Nick.  
  
"What if he's hurt Matt? The report said a shot was heard from on the bus," Rae asked him.  
  
"We can't be certain it's him Rae. It could've hit anything or anyone," Matt told her.  
  
"Doctor Brennan, Doctor Slingerland, could you stay a bit longer? That call was from the police. Thay say there's school bus full of students and a few adults in the high school parking lot that's been taken as hostages. They told us to be prepared for anyone who's injured that come in," the nurse called over to them.  
  
Matt and Rae looked at each other with worried looks on their faces.  
  
"Nick!" they cried before they hurried back upstairs.  
  
***  
  
Nick was pretty much laying in the seat, semi-conscious as Patrick knelt beside him, still trying to stop the flow of blood from his shoulder. Sarah sat on the other side of him, nearest to the aisle.  
  
"Nicky, come on. Come out of it. We wouldn't know where to go if you left us," Sarah quietly sobbed.  
  
"He's not going to die Sarah. Not yet," Patrick told her as he looked up at her.  
  
One of the two men walked up beside the seat and glared at them.  
  
"What's the matter? You afraid? You should be after all," the man sneered at them.  
  
The two didn't answer him. When the silence continued, the man shifted the gun on his shoulder.  
  
"Ha. You don't know what to do now. Don't worry, you're getting off the bus though you're not going to be alive when you do. I'm sure you must remember us along with Max," the man said, refering to him along with the other man.  
  
"I'm sorry, we don't. We only remember Max. We've met many people over the years," Patrick coldly replied.  
  
"We were also a couple victims of your treachery. We all turned to Henry Smith for everything we needed. Then he was put away a few months ago and we found out you two were the cause of it. Even better than that, you two were related to him. We should've known," the man said.  
  
"We had no choice! Henry forced us to do those things before he went into drug dealing," Sarah protested.  
  
A gun in her face immediately shut her up.  
  
"Be quiet or else you'll be tasting bullet real soon," the man warned her.  
  
Sarah nor Patrick said anything more as his hand staying on the wound. The man walked away as the other man stayed to keep an eye on them.  
  
***  
  
Max was enjoying himself outside. He was reveling in the attention he was getting when all the police cars drove up. A couple of ambulance were stationed nearby for any injuried parties.  
  
"Put the gun down and let the hostages go before someone gets hurt," one police officer called out to him.  
  
"I think it's a little late for that. There's already one person hurt and there could easily be more," Max yelled back at them.  
  
"Great, we have injured already," mumbled the police officer.  
  
"Put the gun down and let them paramedics tend to the injured," yelled another police officer.  
  
"Never! I want them to suffer just like I did!" Max yelled at them. "I'm not letting them go just yet!"  
  
***  
  
In the bus, the still scared students were watching the whole thing, wondering when they'd be let free. Mrs. Tand slowly made her way up to the front of the bus, hoping she could help Nick.  
  
"How is he?" she asked.  
  
"I don't know but we do have to get him to the hospital soon," Patrick replied.  
  
"Get back to where you were right now or else," the man ordered once he saw the teacher.  
  
She hurried back to where she was sitting before.  
  
***  
  
Harriet was watching the television set when a news report broke into the signal.  
  
"We have breaking news. A school bus at the local high school has actually been taken over by three men with guns. It looks like they are not giving up the students or adults as of yet. They have made no demands as of yet except for one man making the statement of that they will suffer just like he did," the anchorperson said.  
  
Harriet couldn't believe what she was hearing. So much could she not believe it, she dropped the mug that she was holding, the drink spilling all over the floor.  
  
"Nick. Sarah. Patrick," she said to herself. "What's happened now?"  
  
She hurried out of the room and soon met up with Letty.  
  
"Harriet, what's wrong? Is it about the alert we just received about the school bus hostages?" she wondered.  
  
Harriet nodded.  
  
"I just heard it on the news. I fear Nick's going to do something stupid and get himself hurt again," Harriet replied.  
  
"Really? What makes you think that?" wondered a surprised Letty.  
  
"Letty, you've seen how much he cares for those two. You know he'd much do pretty much anything for them," Harriet told her.  
  
Letty thought about that as the two hurried down the hallway.  
  
***  
  
Max looked over the crowd before him, consisting of the parents, police and paramedics. He laughed to himself before walking back onto the bus.  
  
"Hello everybody. Nice night, tonight, isn't it? Listen, I'm feeling really gracious at the moment. All of you can go except for these three," Max told them, pointing his gun at Nick, Patrick and Sarah. "I don't feel I have the need to keep you in here any longer and these are the ones I really want anyway. Now get going before I change my mind!"  
  
The students and other adults slowly climbed off the bus. Jesssica was the last one in line. She turned her head to look at them when she was roughly grabbed by the arm.  
  
"But I think you'll do as well. Hold her!" she heard Max say as she was thrust into the arms of one of the other men.  
  
***  
  
The parents were happy to see their children. The students hurried to their parents and hugged them. Paramedics hurried up to them and started to look over them for any physical injuries.  
  
Jessica's mother ran through the crowd, looking for her daughter.  
  
"Jessica? Jessica! Where are you?" she cried.  
  
The woman looked back at the bus and she saw Jessica still on it.  
  
"Jessica, no," she said.  
  
***  
  
"Get them out of the way, now!" Max ordered.  
  
Hands grabbed the brother and sister away from Nick. The bigger of the two men was keeping the two females back as the other was keeping Patrick back. The three were shoved into seats and a gun was put into their faces.  
  
They helplessly watched as Max advanced towards Nick, who was more aware now and was trying to move away from Max but all he got to was bus. His back now against the side of the bus, he watched as Max became closer. The man put his leg between Nick's in order to keep him from going anywhere.  
  
"You will pay dearly for helping them," Max told him menacingly.  
  
He lifted the gun and slammed the butt of it right into Nick's stomach. Max kept hitting him in the stomach area until Nick couldn't handle it anymore and threw up all over himself from lack of anywhere else to go.  
  
TBC... 


	5. When the Calvary Arrives

"Stop it! Please!" cried Sarah as she helplessly watched Nick endure the torture he was receiving.  
  
Nick's head soon hit the window and it drooped down. His whole body went limp and the beating soon stopped after that. Max laughed quietly to himself as he climbed off the seat.  
  
"Good good good. One thing little miss Sarah, I'm not stopping. Ever. This is going to go on until you are all dead," Max said, pointing his gun at the now unconscious Nick. "And it will start with him."  
  
Tears started to form in the teens' eyes as they watched helplessly.  
  
"Daddy," Sarah quietly said to herself.  
  
***  
  
Letty, Jules, Harriet and Rae were patiently watching the news, waiting for anything about the school bus hijacking.  
  
"More news about the school bus incident. Apparently, most of the students and adults have been let off the bus except for a select few. We fear that these individuals will perish for the men who have taken over the bus have been identified as dangerous as well as armed," the man said on the television.  
  
"Great. How much do you want to bet that three of whoever's still left on the bus is Patrick, Nick and Sarah?" asked Letty.  
  
"No need to bet anything, we all know it's them along with any others that just happened to get in the way. They're all still in danger no matter what," sighed Jules.  
  
The four continued to watch the news report, hoping that the outcome wouldn't be too bad.  
  
***  
  
"What should we do with these three boss?" asked one of the men.  
  
"We'll kill them eventually just not at the moment. I'm having too much fun now to do anything else," Max smiled.  
  
The man watching the two girls turned his head to look at Max, giving Sarah the oppurtunity to jump out of her seat. She knocked the gun out of his hands and ran over to Nick.  
  
"Dad! Wake up! Please! Dad!" she cried as Patrick knocked over the man that wa supposed to be watching him.  
  
Patrick ran over to her. He lifted up Nick's shirt to look at the already bad bruise on his stomach.  
  
"Oh God," he muttered.  
  
He gently put his fingers where the bruise was and even in the condition he was in, Nick flinched under the touch.  
  
"You will pay dearly for that. I will personally make sure you all die together," came Max's voice.  
  
The two looked to see him, gun in hand and angrier than ever.  
  
"Now walk away from him before someone out there has to get hurt," Max ordered.  
  
The two looked at each other before shaking ther heads at him.  
  
***  
  
Outside the bus, everyone was still there, waiting to see what would happen to those still on the bus.  
  
"We have to get them out now! My daughter's still in there," cried Jessica's mother.  
  
"We will get them all out alive ma'am," a police officer replied as he lifted up a bullhorn. "Come out now and nobody will get hurt."  
  
Max appeared in the door of the bus.  
  
"Never! I let all the other people go. What more do you want?" he yelled back.  
  
"We want everyone that was in the bus out of there. We know there's people still left in there!" the police officer replied.  
  
"If you want them, you're going to have to come and get them yourselves!!" Max told them before hurrying back inside.  
  
He passed the two men. They looked at each other.  
  
"So what are we doing now?" asked one.  
  
Max looked at them with a smile.  
  
***  
  
"I can't do this. I can't sit here and do nothing while those three are in danger!" Jackie cried out.  
  
Matt was standing next to her and he grabbed her arm.  
  
"What are going to do Jackie? Do you feel helpless that Nick is out there, possibly injured and there's nothing you can do? I feel the same way and so do several other people here. Letty, Jules, Rae and Harriet most of all since well, they are the only ones who really know about it yet," Matt told her.  
  
"I understand that but how many of them are doing anything except wait and hope for the best?" she replied. "Besides, I owe it to him for the way I've been treating him lately."  
  
She broke free of his grasp and headed out the door, leaving Matt watching her go.  
  
"I just hope you don't go into the middle of it," he whispered to himself.  
  
***  
  
Jackie climbed into her car and drove towards the high school. The entire time, she couldn't help but think about Nick.  
  
"Don't you do something stupid on us Nick. Especially not those two. They need you. They've waited all their lives for someone like you to come along and pull them out of the beastly hole they were thrown into," she kept telling herself the entire way.  
  
***  
  
The police and parents couldn't do anything except watch and wait as they watched the men move around inside the bus.  
  
"I don't know how much longer we can wait. We have to get those four out before they're seriously hurt or killed," said one police officer to another.  
  
"I know what you mean. But what can we possibly do? If we go in, they just might get killed," the one replied.  
  
"We'll have to risk somebody getting hurt in order to save their lives," the first replied as he lifted the bullhorn.  
  
"Come on out. We don't want anyone else getting hurt here so it'd be easier for you to just come out with your hands in the air," he said.  
  
Max could be seen in the doorway.  
  
"Not in a million years. If you want me, come in and get me," Max told them.  
  
He calmly walked backed inside as Jackie happened to drive up and get out of the car. She ran up to the police cars. One officer walked over to her.  
  
"I'm sorry, but you can't come by here," she told Jackie.  
  
"I understand it's just some friends of mine are still on the bus, one of them being co-worker of mine," Jackie replied. "I think it would help for them to see a friendly face for when they manage to get off the bus."  
  
The officer nodded.  
  
"Alright then," she said.  
  
***  
  
Sarah stood between the men and Nick and Patrick, who was patching up the bullet wound.  
  
"Sis, we got to get some ice on that bruise immediately or else it's going to be really bad," Patrick told her, his voice sounding urgent.  
  
"I know, I know but where are we going to get any? We can't exactly get to the corner for any," Sarah replied, her voice sounding the same way.  
  
Patrick said nothing as he watched the men with Sarah and Jessica. They watched as Max walked over to them.  
  
"Now, I think it's time," he coldly said as he grabbed Jessica. "Bring the other one."  
  
The bigger of the two men roughly took a hold of Sarah as the other stayed behind, aiming his gun at Nick and Patrick, who was becoming very worried at the outcome.  
  
***  
  
The two men walked out of the bus, teens in hand.  
  
"You let us go and these two won't get hurt, unlike the one on the bus," Max told them.  
  
"Don't listen to him! He'll find another way to kill us! Take him now or you'll never be able to catch him again!" Sarah cried out to them.  
  
The police officers weren't exactly sure what to do: listen to the man or the kid.  
  
"Are you nuts Sarah?" Jessica wondered quietly.  
  
"Yes, I'm nuts. I'm just not stupid," she replied.  
  
"Be quiet!" Max told them. "What is your choice? Me or the girls?"  
  
Sarah and Jessica stared at each other, waiting for the right moment.  
  
"No, we want you," one police officer replied as the police dog ran onto the scene.  
  
"Jessica, now!" cried Sarah.  
  
They managed to get out of the men's grip just as the dogs attacked them, taking them down. Sarah ran over to Jackie and hugged her as Jessica ran over to her mother.  
  
"Sarah, where's Nick?" Jackie desperately asked, holding on to the teen's shoulders.  
  
"Dad! Jackie, he's been shot!" We have to get him out of there!" cried Sarah as she started to head back towards the bus.  
  
"Oh my," Jackie said to herself as she followed her.  
  
TBC... 


	6. When the Danger Has Passed

Sarah ran onto the bus and saw the final man, pointing his gun at Nick and Patrick.  
  
"Get away from them!" cried Sarah as she ran for him.  
  
The man was surprised as she ran right for him, knocking him from his position. The gun flew out of his hands as he hit the floor, unable to move quickly because of the weight on top of him. Jackie ran over to the two and looked at Nick.  
  
"Oh my God. Nick!" she cried as she knelt by him.  
  
She turned his face towards her.  
  
"Nick, open your eyes and look at me now please," she pleaded.  
  
Nick just opened his eyes. They aimlessly looked around before they rested on Jackie. They stared at her.  
  
"Nick, it's me. Jackie. Don't turn your head away from me," she told him as she turned towards Patrick. "What have we got?"  
  
"Gun shot to the shoulder and he was continually beaten in the stomach area until he vomited. He also hit his head against the window," he replied.  
  
Once Patrick mentioned the beating, she noticed the vomit all over Nick's shirt.  
  
'Nick, what have you done?' she thought to herself as a few police officers hurried onto the bus.  
  
"Ma'am, I think you should leave him to the paramedics," one officer told her as she put away her gun.  
  
"No, I think I'd be able to help him as well. I forgot to tell you I'm a doctor," Jackie replied as a couple paramedics hurried inside.  
  
The officer nodded as they started to prepare him the trip to the hospital. Sarah and Patrick stepped out of their way as they watched them. Jackie hurried over to them.  
  
"Come on, I'll drive you over to the hospital. These people have everything under control," she sadly told them.  
  
They reluctantly moved their feet and followed Jackie to her car.  
  
***  
  
The three arrived at the hospital just as the ambulance did. They ran inside to find Matt and Rae waiting for them.  
  
"Jackie, how is he?" asked Rae.  
  
"Not good. There's bad bruising on his stomach, gun shot to the shoulder and possibly a mild concussion. We'll have to wait and see how he is later," she replied as the two teens continued on their way.  
  
The three doctors immediately followed them.  
  
"There's nothing you can do for him now. All we can do now is wait!" Rae called up to them.  
  
Patrick stopped and faced them.  
  
"There is something we can for him. We can hope. Hope that nothing serious has happened to him and that whatever has happened isn't permanant," he told them before he and Sarah continued on.  
  
The three glanced at each other, wondering what to think about everything.  
  
***  
  
"So what's going to happen to them?" Matt asked Rae as he sipped on his coffee.  
  
"Well, what I heard from the police was that they're going to be charged with at least assault from the attack on Nick. They're also going to face a charge with being armed and hijacking a bus full of people and endangering their lives," Rae replied. "That's about all I know."  
  
"Thanks. I sincerely hope we don't have to deal with anyone else showing up and want to kill those two teens," Matt told her.  
  
"You got that right. I never seen anyone get into more trouble," Rae agreed. "And I don't mean that in a bad way."  
  
***  
  
Later, after Nick was in a hospital bed and sleeping soundly, Letty, Jules, and Harriet walked into the room and up to the bed. Letty sighed as she looked as her friend lying motionless in the bed before her.  
  
"The things he does for those two teenagers," she said.  
  
"Yes, he'd risk his life for them. I really believe he treats them as if they were with him his entire life and wouldn't give a second thought if they were in danger. It's as if they were truly his own children," Jules agreed.  
  
"Love is an amazing thing," Harriet mused.  
  
"It most certainly is but I really think we should continue to let him rest for now. He's had a long day," Letty told them as she started out of the room.  
  
The other two followed her.  
  
Soon, Jackie walked into the room and up to the Nick.  
  
"Nick, I'm sorry for everything. You can probably hear me, I just know you won't respond. I wonder what the princess is doing right now?" Jackie said with a small smile.  
  
"Jackie, you call me that name again, or reference anything to it, I will never forgive you," came a quiet voice.  
  
Jackie looked to see Nick's eyes were slightly open and staring at her.  
  
"Nick. How're you feeling?" she asked him.  
  
"Fine even though my stomach really hurts, my head's pounding and my shoulder aches again. So what other stupid questions do you have for me?" he replied.  
  
"After saving their lives again, I'm sure it does Shining Knight," Jackie said.  
  
Nick looked up at her and gave a sigh before closing his eyes again.  
  
"Jackie, please don't call me that name ever again," he asked of her.  
  
"Alright, I won't call you that anymore," replied Jackie, her fingers crossed behind her back.  
  
"But that doesn't change facts. I will still get you back for starting it in the first place," he quietly told her.  
  
Jackie's mouth was now wide open and her eyes bulging out of their sockets.  
  
"You wouldn't!" she told her, not believing what she was hearing.  
  
Nick slowly nodded his head as he glanced up at her.  
  
"I would," he said.  
  
"Alright, Shining Knight. Bring it on," Jackie told him with a smile.  
  
She immediately and quickly left the room, laughing along the way, leaving an unsurprised but frazzled Nick. He closed his eyes with a deep sigh.  
  
"There is no stopping you and that nickname, is there?" he said to himself.  
  
The End.  
  
Author's Note-Thanks to everyone who reviewed. They mean a lot. And I know. What a way to end a story. Hope you liked it. 


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